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Reunion Logo 2023
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2023 Commencement Speaker
United States Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock, of Georgia.

2023 Commencement Speaker

United States Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock

Bard College is pleased to have had United States Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock, of Georgia, deliver the 2023 Commencement address at Bard College.

A highly-respected pastor and social justice advocate, Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock was first elected to the United States Senate in 2021 and re-elected for a full term in 2022. Additionally, for over 16 years, Senator Reverend Warnock has served as Senior Pastor of Atlanta’s historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, the spiritual home of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He is the youngest pastor selected to serve in that leadership role at the historic church.

2023 Commencement Speaker

Senator Reverend Warnock is a native of coastal Georgia, growing up in Kayton Homes public housing in Savannah, and was born one of twelve brothers and sisters. His father, a veteran, small businessman and preacher, grew up in Burke and Screven County, GA. Senator Reverend Warnock’s mother grew up in Waycross, GA, where she spent summers picking tobacco and cotton. A graduate of Savannah’s Sol C. Johnson High School, Senator Reverend Warnock’s mother and extended family still live in the Savannah area. Senator Reverend Warnock is a proud graduate of Atlanta’s Morehouse College and Union Theological Seminary, where he earned his PhD. 
 
A champion for expanding educational access and opportunities, Senator Warnock has worked tirelessly to ensure students in Georgia and around the country have access to a higher education that can transform lives. In addition to advocating for efforts to increase college affordability, Senator Warnock has been a vocal advocate for student loan debt cancellation, and pushed the White House in the summer of 2022 to enact a plan to help provide meaningful relief to millions of students. Senator Warnock was also instrumental in the passage of the CHIPS and Science Act, reaching across the aisle to secure STEM education funding in the legislation for HBCUs and other higher education institutions across the nation that will boost American innovation and research   Additionally, as the Senate’s only current HBCU graduate, Senator Reverend Warnock has co-led efforts in the Senate to strengthen funding for the nation’s HBCUs and 1890 Land-Grant colleges and universities. As a voice for Georgia in the United States Senate, Senator Reverend Warnock is committed to highlighting the moral urgency for making change in Washington, including continuing to fight for increased access to quality education for students across Georgia and the nation.

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Photo by Samuel Stuart Hollenshead

Make a Gift!

Please join your classmates in supporting the Bard College Fund with a gift to the Alumni/ae Reunion Scholarship, which provides financial aid to students who demonstrate academic excellence and exemplary citizenship. You can help make an unparalleled liberal arts education accessible. It can be in honor or in memory of a friend, family member, or favorite professor.
For more information on ways to give, click here.
 
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Thank you!

A special thank you to the following alumni/ae for funding the successful $50,000 Reunion challenge match:
Nolan English ’13     Hannah Byrnes-Enoch ’08     George Hamel III ’08 
Gerald Pambo-Awich ’08     Mollie Meikle ’03     Eric W. Goldman ’98 
Erin Law ’93     Olivier te Boekhorst ’93    Eric Arnould ’73     Barbara Grossman ’73
Kristen Waters ’73    Paul Weinstein ’73     Bob Amsterdam ’53    Arnold J. Davis ’44

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